Teenager charged with man's murder

A teenager has been charged with murdering a man whose killing was being investigated for links to the deaths of a family in a house fire.

Leicestershire Police said the 19-year-old was charged after the death of Antoin Akpom, who died following an assault that took place in Kent Street, Leicester, on the evening of Thursday September 12.

Detectives have been exploring the possibility that a family of four killed in a fire at their property might have been targeted by mistake in a revenge attack after Mr Akpom's death.

Shehnila Taufiq, who was in her 40s, her 19-year-old daughter Zainab and sons Bilal, 17, and Jamal, 15, died after the blaze in Wood Hill, Leicester, in the early hours of Friday.

There has so far been no evidence to link the two incidents. Police have said none of those killed in the fire had any connection to the murder of 20-year-old Mr Akpom, who was fatally assaulted several hours before the fire.

A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said the 19-year-old was charged with Mr Akpom's murder after review by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

He said: "The evidence has been reviewed by a Crown advocate from the CPS East Midlands Complex Casework Unit, who has decided that there is sufficient evidence to charge and that it is in the public interest for a prosecution to take place.

"The accused will be held in custody overnight, and is expected to appear at Leicester Magistrates' Court tomorrow."

Two men arrested in connection with the deaths of Shehnila Taufiq and her children remain in custody.

Magistrates have granted a 24-hour custody extension in the case of a 49-year-old man, and a 36-hour extension in the case of a 19-year-old man.